I've been struggling to write my blog post where I officially introduce myself as an artist ( I guess this is it?) and share some of my past and preposterous works. That's cuz much of my present work was and is still unfinished, and that’s life. I will share and then ponder it all later, and what It means for my ongoing journey.
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These are some early works (pre-college) where I was just trying to challenge myself and draw things I found pretty (haha yeah a had a teenage phase I suppose) and experiment with composition.
(Left to right: La liberte guiding the people by Delacroix reproduction in chalk, Tainted with shadow composition dedicated to my Sibro, Galdalf the grey, Twilight Composition, can't remember who these dudes are but at 15-17 I thought they were cute)
So yeah, I guess I've been creating art for some time, but since I was in STEM, there was a stigma to really putting much energy or life passion effort into the arts. 'There's no way that's gonna be a career', they said. I really internalized that so much that I stopped doing art for some time in College and found my mental health challenged as a result.
below (Left: original composition based on chronic insecurity; Andromeda, by Gustave Dore reproduction; Right: Self-portrait circa 2016)
I've also been afraid to take on the label "Artist" cuz if I take it, that means I must forever be 'ART-ing'. Which sounds intimidating tbh, like I must always be creating something generally regarded ART? what is art?
“Once we’re in a box, our thinking and creative vagility is compromised,. We've been captured, incarcerated, even domesticated. And once we’ve been rigidly defined labelled and categorized, our creativity is dead. This is the tyranny of genre.” ~ Activism is Medicine.
Not appealing to be boxed in. For myself therefore, I’ve expanded the definition of my ART-ing to mean one of the following, the many flavors I take on in either drawing, writing, cooking-baking, knitting/weaving/cordage making, singing, rhyming and songwriting, stretching and teaching yoga, and meditating others, and even massaging (giving people love through touch is an art I practice with those close to me)
I felt so much free to create when there's a purpose, a reason for my picking up a paintbrush, like Artivism, creating messaging for the movement. I've gotten some good practice with this at my creative work with graphic design, managing the content for the Alliance for Just Money and with making these for my local environmental clubs.
But also I don't see art or even just creating as a waste of time as it was almost internalized when I was deep in STEM. Things can just Be. As, it says in my mat now to remind me!)
Often my yoga and meditation turns into drawing- reflecting. Ultimately I've let it flow and this is the result: My singing tree of everything, that I need to remind myself of.
Fernanda's almost not really finished- Singing Tree of 'Everything I need to Remind myself of.'
I'll elaborate more in another post on the symbolism , lyrics and thoughts that I’ve distilled into this work- which I began last August. Important people in my life have added bits and pieces. Like the water at the bottom, added by my loving partner Alfonso, Like the crazy mycelial flower, by my brave friend Juno, the quote about 'loving the questions', by my dear fried Espoir.
"There's more than just one answer to these questions, pointing me in a crooked line" ~Indigo Girls
I’m still working on the official collaborative singing tree, that will designate me as a complete and accomplished Artist-facilitator, of collaborative community art. The piece (and peace!) we are working on is the 'Singing tree of a just and democratic economy' and I’m trying to get as many people’s participation of it, so that it will be worthy! Please participate if you can!!
“Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me more creative” ~ the artivist.
So that's my introduction to you as a visual artist. :D
Oh yeah, there's more mediums I work with. Check out my tik tok chanel to see some of my "Climate carols" and the song re-writing I've done to try to bring attention to climate change. :O ... hope it works, (I'll download in case they do ban tik tok) :P Stay tuned for when I drop the whole climate album!
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